Metro Boston: Good ride today?
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You're still going to need a bigger box.
If I'm counting right, that's about 16 heading to the Gibbs (Middle, Sixth Grade) School in East Arlington, plus a couple of commuters heading to Alewife and/or beyond. In one light cycle.
And yes, the clocks on First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington's Spire are spot on right now.
Finally, today is one of the bike count days. The counters were busy this morning.
-mr. bill
If I'm counting right, that's about 16 heading to the Gibbs (Middle, Sixth Grade) School in East Arlington, plus a couple of commuters heading to Alewife and/or beyond. In one light cycle.
And yes, the clocks on First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington's Spire are spot on right now.
Finally, today is one of the bike count days. The counters were busy this morning.
-mr. bill
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FWD to 2:10
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Took the GT out in the last of Tuesday's heat, on the Minuteman up to Lexington Center before the rain and before my 2pm dentist's appointment. The clouds, while impressive, were in no hurry, in contradistinction to Monday's clouds, which positively scooted and scudded along.
I, on the other hand, felt myself to be in a hurry, and sprinted most of the way, something a short, familiar ride is good for. As I was cranking along, I encountered a skater with good form, and sampled a few frames of that as token for the Minuteman mixed traffic that was out and doing Tuesday.
Back in good time, and on to the dentist's.
rod
I, on the other hand, felt myself to be in a hurry, and sprinted most of the way, something a short, familiar ride is good for. As I was cranking along, I encountered a skater with good form, and sampled a few frames of that as token for the Minuteman mixed traffic that was out and doing Tuesday.
Back in good time, and on to the dentist's.
rod
Last edited by rholland1951; 07-20-21 at 10:21 AM.
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The last time I rode the Surly, it reminded me that I owed it some lubrication to make up for the long ride in the rain I had taken it on the other day. This afternoon, after a day spent waiting for the refrigerator repairman or someone like him, I paid that debt in Tri-Flow, and took the Surly up to Lexington on the Minuteman. Something got into me then, and I set my fastest pace on that route in at least two years. The fact that the crowds were out and evil necromancers were apparently hiding in the bushes conjuring the incompetent made this somewhat more challenging than it might normally have been, with five soundings of the bell and four sincere utterances of "Heads up!", along with one WTF. If I was "that cyclist" to anyone today, apologies. I took no photographs during the ride, being much too intent on the ride itself, but did take one of the Surly in the garage, after it had been rode hard and put up wet (with Tri-Flow).
rod
rod
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While Estabrook Road retains modern, paved sections in Concord and Carlisle, the unpaved, stony core, in use at least since the 18th Century, was abandoned by the Town of Concord in 1932, and forms the armature of the Estabrook Woods, a unique, privately maintained conservation area owned by Harvard University and a raft of smaller land-holders. While this has recently been disputed, Estabrook Road remains open for recreational use, including cycling. I've ridden it several times over the years, generally on the fattest tires I've got. On Thursday, I took the 1987 GT Karakoram rigid mtb, newly fitted with Rene Herse (a.k.a., Compass) Humptulips Ridge Extralights (HTRs, for the rest of this post, saves snickering at the funny name). These are 26" x 2.3" dual-purpose knobbies, inflated to 30/35 PSI, and have proved equally at home on asphalt and on single-track, fast, sure-footed, and comfy.
The route took me out the Minuteman to Depot Park, then a short ride up Railroad Avenue to the Reformatory Branch trailhead, and on through the Bedford and Concord sections of that until I reached Monument Street, Concord.
From there, I rode up to and over North Bridge, and managed to take a wrong turn that put me onto Lowell Street, which I turned off of onto Barne's Hill Road, which led me to the South end of the still-paved, still-public Estabrook Road. I followed that through a series of gentleman farms, and to the threshold of the woods.
Some previous postings have basically been about the fun of getting lost, missing the true Estabrook Road and wandering on side trails that are even more difficult to ride. The critical choice point comes early: three paths diverge. The path on the far right is a hiking trail that has recently been gated. The path in the center is interesting, skirting the East edge of Mink Pond, but is not what's wanted, and is both narrower and stonier than Estabrook Road. The true Estabrook Road is the left-most path, which is quite stony enough, but can (mostly) be ridden with a little care and sensible tires.
So, I took the left path, and proceeded to enjoy the rocky, rooty, gnatty, leafy glory of this fine old road, said to have carried Minutemen to the fight at the North Bridge and known to Thoreau. Estabrook Road climbs a hill overlooking the West bank of Mink Pond, which to my eye was looking a little drier than I'm used to seeing it. If Mink Pond is on your right, you took the correct path.
Continuing past old stone walls and a much more recent tipi/wigwam out of somebody's dreamtime, the end of the Woods and the old road comes always a little later than I expect, but a little sooner than I want, connecting with the paved and not-abandoned Estabrook Road in Carlisle.
Next came a lovely network of paved roads through rolling, wooded hills with quiet residential neighborhoods, a sort of alternate-universe version of what Estabrook Woods might have been if it had been allowed to be developed. Not bad, but not the same, and in any case some very good riding that didn't involve bouncing off rocks. This eventually led to Church Street, Carlisle, a long, steep hill that is one-way the down-hill way. On the exhilarating descent that followed, the Pocket Devil clocked me at 40 mph, the fastest I've been on two wheels outside of Vermont, if true. Church Street spat me out on Route 225, which carried me across the Concord River to Bedford Farms for some Peach Ice Cream research (yup, it's back in season, get it while you can). One kid-sized cup later--assuming the kid is either Gargantua or Pantagruel--I rode on back to the Minuteman, and home.
rod
The route took me out the Minuteman to Depot Park, then a short ride up Railroad Avenue to the Reformatory Branch trailhead, and on through the Bedford and Concord sections of that until I reached Monument Street, Concord.
From there, I rode up to and over North Bridge, and managed to take a wrong turn that put me onto Lowell Street, which I turned off of onto Barne's Hill Road, which led me to the South end of the still-paved, still-public Estabrook Road. I followed that through a series of gentleman farms, and to the threshold of the woods.
Some previous postings have basically been about the fun of getting lost, missing the true Estabrook Road and wandering on side trails that are even more difficult to ride. The critical choice point comes early: three paths diverge. The path on the far right is a hiking trail that has recently been gated. The path in the center is interesting, skirting the East edge of Mink Pond, but is not what's wanted, and is both narrower and stonier than Estabrook Road. The true Estabrook Road is the left-most path, which is quite stony enough, but can (mostly) be ridden with a little care and sensible tires.
So, I took the left path, and proceeded to enjoy the rocky, rooty, gnatty, leafy glory of this fine old road, said to have carried Minutemen to the fight at the North Bridge and known to Thoreau. Estabrook Road climbs a hill overlooking the West bank of Mink Pond, which to my eye was looking a little drier than I'm used to seeing it. If Mink Pond is on your right, you took the correct path.
Continuing past old stone walls and a much more recent tipi/wigwam out of somebody's dreamtime, the end of the Woods and the old road comes always a little later than I expect, but a little sooner than I want, connecting with the paved and not-abandoned Estabrook Road in Carlisle.
Next came a lovely network of paved roads through rolling, wooded hills with quiet residential neighborhoods, a sort of alternate-universe version of what Estabrook Woods might have been if it had been allowed to be developed. Not bad, but not the same, and in any case some very good riding that didn't involve bouncing off rocks. This eventually led to Church Street, Carlisle, a long, steep hill that is one-way the down-hill way. On the exhilarating descent that followed, the Pocket Devil clocked me at 40 mph, the fastest I've been on two wheels outside of Vermont, if true. Church Street spat me out on Route 225, which carried me across the Concord River to Bedford Farms for some Peach Ice Cream research (yup, it's back in season, get it while you can). One kid-sized cup later--assuming the kid is either Gargantua or Pantagruel--I rode on back to the Minuteman, and home.
rod
Last edited by rholland1951; 06-25-21 at 09:44 AM.
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Took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe and headed East on Saturday afternoon, the air a little warm, a little muggy, a little breezy, altogether pleasant if you like that sort of thing (I do).
Dugger Park in West Medford was the site of some sort of festival; my business was further East, the customary round of playing in traffic and surfing the hills, but I enjoyed the show as I rode past.
Perhaps it's the influence of the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, but I found I was regarding the drivers I was on the road with with a measure of detachment and compassion. This came in handy at various times, e.g. when the Lexus driver decided to make a road turn as I was in the middle of a fast descent on Fellsway East. There was a bit of zaniness among the drivers today. I kept my eye on them, and cut them slack as necessary, avoiding karmic entanglement and bodily injury.
I value this ride because it gives me confidence I can ride over the next hill. It also has a few little rewards from time to time, the Fellsmere jets d'eau, for example.
Turned West, rode over a few more hills and played in a bit more traffic, then pedaled back to East Arlington to put the bike away and get on with the evening.
rod
Dugger Park in West Medford was the site of some sort of festival; my business was further East, the customary round of playing in traffic and surfing the hills, but I enjoyed the show as I rode past.
Perhaps it's the influence of the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, but I found I was regarding the drivers I was on the road with with a measure of detachment and compassion. This came in handy at various times, e.g. when the Lexus driver decided to make a road turn as I was in the middle of a fast descent on Fellsway East. There was a bit of zaniness among the drivers today. I kept my eye on them, and cut them slack as necessary, avoiding karmic entanglement and bodily injury.
I value this ride because it gives me confidence I can ride over the next hill. It also has a few little rewards from time to time, the Fellsmere jets d'eau, for example.
Turned West, rode over a few more hills and played in a bit more traffic, then pedaled back to East Arlington to put the bike away and get on with the evening.
rod
Last edited by rholland1951; 06-26-21 at 10:45 PM.
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Brief Pills & Ills update:
So, I've (temporarily, but....) hung up my khakis and bikis, at least when it comes to roads. (Negotiated with the devils, while they "strongly recommend" I no longer road, they are agnostic about bike paths.)
So last week I rode a BLUEbike on Minuteman->Alewife Linear Park->Somerville Community Path, then walked to Hahvard Squah, picked up another BLUEbike to Cambridge Port, then walked over the BU bridge through Riverway Park to BIDMC so I could take Donald Trump's test that he allegedly aced. (Person, man, woman, camera, tv. Person, man, woman, camera, tv. Person, man, woman, camera, tv. That's amazing, nobody ever does that.) Except MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, not to be confused with Mass MoCA) is face, velvet, church, daisy, red.
I did not ace it.
Rather than focus on where I can't, focusing on where I can. (Similar to knee scooter.)
So, yeah.
-mr. bill
So, I've (temporarily, but....) hung up my khakis and bikis, at least when it comes to roads. (Negotiated with the devils, while they "strongly recommend" I no longer road, they are agnostic about bike paths.)
So last week I rode a BLUEbike on Minuteman->Alewife Linear Park->Somerville Community Path, then walked to Hahvard Squah, picked up another BLUEbike to Cambridge Port, then walked over the BU bridge through Riverway Park to BIDMC so I could take Donald Trump's test that he allegedly aced. (Person, man, woman, camera, tv. Person, man, woman, camera, tv. Person, man, woman, camera, tv. That's amazing, nobody ever does that.) Except MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, not to be confused with Mass MoCA) is face, velvet, church, daisy, red.
I did not ace it.
Rather than focus on where I can't, focusing on where I can. (Similar to knee scooter.)
So, yeah.
-mr. bill
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‘Been doing my thing riding mornings, afternoons, and sometimes evenings. Yesterday I rode 82 miles around and through the vineyard. I stopped at Dikes bridge for a photo op. Chief Brody didn’t speed across and Teddy didn’t speed off of it, at least not yesterday..
since it was brutally hot I rode the same bike for only 32 more miles today around Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord.
since it was brutally hot I rode the same bike for only 32 more miles today around Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord.
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Not today, but yesterday. I rode the PF10 34.45 miles Waltham to Carlisle and back. Yes, it was hot.
I am always grateful for the collective wisdom to protect that which has no voice of its own.
I am always grateful for the collective wisdom to protect that which has no voice of its own.
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Took a little ride on the Minuteman noonish on Monday, temperatures bubbling up towards the mid-90s, just how high depending on who you asked, and relative humidity reported around 40% or so. I took the old GT Karakoram with the new tires, and made my own wind chill. The heat and humidity reminded me of bike rides in my South Georgia childhood, with the caveat that the heat was often hotter and the humidity was a good deal wetter when it had a mind to be. But my bike then was red, too, so close enough.
Didn't overdo it, drank enough water, appreciated the Minuteman tree canopy. Good ride today.
rod
Didn't overdo it, drank enough water, appreciated the Minuteman tree canopy. Good ride today.
rod
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brave man. sounds like you have the appropriate prior training tho! been in the new Lexington Visitors' Center yet? I imagine it would be a cool & safe place if one had a heat emergency
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fantastic! Wifey & I were out there for 3 nites a cpl weeks ago. could hardly believe I was in the water, at Lambert's Cove Beach, on a gorgeous hot sunny day & we parked legally in the parking lot, before 5pm! must have been 20 years since we did that! ever been to Great Rock Bite Beach in Chilmark? it's a great secret beach (also free to the public, a rarity on the island) didn't bring the bikes, Wifey wanted her car & we had expansive plans (excuse, I know)
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Well, yes but the faucet in Concord Center is on so refills are possible. My problem wasn't the empty water bottle but the empty snack larder.
Don't know about Lexington but the restrooms at Depot Park in Bedford are open.
Don't know about Lexington but the restrooms at Depot Park in Bedford are open.
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fantastic! Wifey & I were out there for 3 nites a cpl weeks ago. could hardly believe I was in the water, at Lambert's Cove Beach, on a gorgeous hot sunny day & we parked legally in the parking lot, before 5pm! must have been 20 years since we did that! ever been to Great Rock Bite Beach in Chilmark? it's a great secret beach (also free to the public, a rarity on the island) didn't bring the bikes, Wifey wanted her car & we had expansive plans (excuse, I know)
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Nice, parking is tough on that salty piece of land. Is Great Rock Bite Beach the one right near Larsens where ya can watch a picturesque sunset? If so than yes about 6-7 years ago with Mrs Ghazmh (Sadly no bike). I should have mentioned before, the weather was foggy hazy hot and humid for half the ride. Eventually the sun came out and dried up all the sweat, then all was good with the world. I stopped at Katama General Store for the best damn lobster roll ever. Already thinking of my next ride there. I may program a route on my GPS to get onto new to me roads that aren’t dead ends. I roughly planned out a route in my head but a few times it didn’t lead to the point A to point B that I neede it to.
that was Day One
Day Two was at Lambert's Cove & was able to launch the kite cam (Wifey likes to read at the beach but I can't sit still)
Day Three we got to LB too late so went South to Long Point Wildlife Refuge for the south shore's ocean waves & amazing vistas
at Long Point, kite cam was having condensation issues, so the pics became progressively hazy. too many forceful dunks in the ocean from altitude, hehe
Last edited by rumrunn6; 06-29-21 at 05:48 PM.
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well that is key. we try to hit certain corners/sections in a day, meaning restrict our activities to a smaller geographic area, but a different one each day. it's more manageable than trying to encompass too much distance in any given day. but there's no escaping one always has to start from the Northern apex. VH or OB. staying overnight is pretty rare for us & the 3 nites was really rare
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I was thrilled to see that fountain back on. On the last few summer scorcher rides knowing it’s cool elixir awaited me only a few red lights away was comforting and albeit cheaper than the nearby gas station. I can also attest to how relieved I was to know the bathrooms are open at the North bridge. Sadly Ferns removed their ports potty as had the Gropius house albeit that was last year. I was bummed because it was always perfectly situated on my return leg of 90% of my rides from home.